This summer, the second season of House of the Dragon premiered, so we’ll have to wait again for the continuation. In the meantime, we will receive the new Game of Thrones spinoff, The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which explores a lesser-known, smaller-scale story from the universe of George R.R. Martin's fantasy. However, that doesn't mean the series can't be an epic of Game of Thrones caliber, right? No, Martin stated in his blog that the series will remain true to the narratives, so yes, this will be a very different story compared to House of the Dragon.
The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which, according to Martin, may still change its title before the premiere, adapts the Dunk & Egg stories centered around Ser Duncan and Prince Aegon Targaryen, with their adventures unfolding throughout the narratives. As the author hinted in his blog, it’s possible that the series will eventually be released under the title The Wandering Knight, as the first season adapts this story from the volume that is also available in Hungarian as The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. However, even more important is the nature of the series we can expect. We'll hand it over to the author!
"The Wandering Knight" takes place about ninety years before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire, during the reign of King Daeron II. You may find this series to have a significantly different tone compared to Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon. It's a smaller-scale, more personal story with more humor, and the characters will receive greater emphasis... but there is also danger and death in it. You will encounter lords, ladies, and princes, while the common folk will be at least as important this time.
Martin also elaborated on how the foundational work came to be. He stated that he wrote it for an anthology called Legends in response to a request back in the 1990s. The stipulation was that the writers who contributed should already have their own mythology, so the story should take place within those frameworks. At that time, Game of Thrones, or the first part of A Song of Ice and Fire, was not as popular as it is today, but Martin had to work with that.
So, he wrote The Knight of the Wandering, making sure not to spoil any key points regarding the planned, larger story of A Song of Ice and Fire. This is why he didn't want to create a backstory for any major character, such as Robert Baratheon. Instead, he chose this particular era, which he hadn't seriously considered before, and since he enjoyed the classic MGM film Ivanhoe, a costume knight story, he decided that a jousting tournament would be the main setting for the plot. "It may be shocking and surprising to my loyal readers, but The Knight of the Wandering was actually completed by the deadline," Martin wrote with a fair amount of self-irony, alluding to the fact that The Winds of Winter, the penultimate book in A Song of Ice and Fire, is still eagerly awaited.
"When the story was finished, I already loved the pairing of Dunk and Egg. And I still love them today. I've written many stories over the decades and created countless characters. I actually see them all as a kind of children... some more than others... but Dunk and Egg are special cases. I intend to write further chapters of their story... of course, only in my well-deserved free time after I finish The Winds of Winter – I know, I know!" Martin continued.
The author finally reflected on how satisfied he is with The Legend of the Seven Kingdoms so far, as filming has already wrapped up. The creator was concerned that the smaller budget compared to Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon would cause problems, because even though it is a smaller-scale story, he wants it to be of similar quality to the other two larger series. "Ninety percent of the plot takes place in an arena surrounded by tents, so it didn't require the large-scale sets that the other series showcased, but the overall effect cannot feel cheap or unconvincing; the costumes, heraldry, and fights all have to look magnificent… And I was very happy when I arrived at the filming location and saw what Ira and the team had put together," Martin elaborated.
